My Freshman Year
In this section of My Freshman Year, Nathan began to talk more about cultural differences among students at AnyU. She interviewed many international students in her dorm and on campus, and found that many of them did not understand our "American" culture, and instead they criticized it. I did agree with how everyone may say "hello" in passing, and not wait for a response, but that's just how we are. Almost like a trained greeting and response, but most of the time we don't wait for the response. Many of the international students she talked to seemed to think it was strange to do that, and didn't seem sincere. They also don't understand how we say "we'll get together sometime" but not have any number to call to do so. I understand how they see us this way, but I can only imagine how I would react in a scenario where I was in their culture, and unaware of any customs. This section did point out how student's, and people in general, are in a hurry. I think it's just because we always take on such a workload, there is never a moment to waste.
On Ethnography In this section of On Ethnography, the author begins to describe how an interview should take place in an ethnography study. I believe this is to show how proper data is collected, and it will also help me when I go to do the interview part of my CLUE project. You have to be careful with how you ask certain questions, because every student, teacher, and person you ask, may have a different background or culture they come from. It's best to avoid insulting anyone. Ethnographers need to always be aware of their surroundings, and data they are trying to collect. Being an ethnographer means being aware of when to ask questions, how to ask them, and using the data accordingly.
In this section of My Freshman Year, Nathan began to talk more about cultural differences among students at AnyU. She interviewed many international students in her dorm and on campus, and found that many of them did not understand our "American" culture, and instead they criticized it. I did agree with how everyone may say "hello" in passing, and not wait for a response, but that's just how we are. Almost like a trained greeting and response, but most of the time we don't wait for the response. Many of the international students she talked to seemed to think it was strange to do that, and didn't seem sincere. They also don't understand how we say "we'll get together sometime" but not have any number to call to do so. I understand how they see us this way, but I can only imagine how I would react in a scenario where I was in their culture, and unaware of any customs. This section did point out how student's, and people in general, are in a hurry. I think it's just because we always take on such a workload, there is never a moment to waste.
On Ethnography
In this section of On Ethnography, the author begins to describe how an interview should take place in an ethnography study. I believe this is to show how proper data is collected, and it will also help me when I go to do the interview part of my CLUE project. You have to be careful with how you ask certain questions, because every student, teacher, and person you ask, may have a different background or culture they come from. It's best to avoid insulting anyone. Ethnographers need to always be aware of their surroundings, and data they are trying to collect. Being an ethnographer means being aware of when to ask questions, how to ask them, and using the data accordingly.